Mastodon / Fediverse Instance Directory Scraper
SOCIAL MEDIABUSINESSDEVELOPER TOOLS
Mastodon / Fediverse Instance Directory Scraper
Scrape Mastodon instance directories from joinmastodon.org. Returns instance domain, software version, user counts, monthly active users, registration state, region, language, and categories.
Source: api.joinmastodon.org/servers — the official Mastodon directory API. No authentication required. ~312 curated instances.
What you get
Each record contains:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
instance_domain |
Instance domain (e.g. mastodon.social) |
source_directory |
Always joinmastodon.org |
software |
Always mastodon (joinmastodon.org curates Mastodon instances only) |
software_version |
Mastodon version string (e.g. 4.5.9) |
users_total |
Total registered users |
active_users_week |
Active users in the past week |
open_registrations |
true if the instance accepts signups without approval |
region |
Geographic region (e.g. europe, north_america, asia) |
language |
Primary language code (e.g. en, ja, de) |
languages |
All supported language codes (comma-separated) |
category |
Primary category (e.g. general, tech, art, music) |
categories |
All categories (comma-separated) |
description |
Server description text |
thumbnail_url |
Server thumbnail image URL |
source_url |
https://joinmastodon.org/servers |
Input options
| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
language |
(empty) | Filter by language code (en, ja, de, ...) |
category |
(empty) | Filter by category (general, tech, art, music, ...) |
region |
(empty) | Filter by region (europe, north_america, asia-pacific, ...) |
openRegistrationsOnly |
false |
Return only instances open for immediate signup |
maxItems |
0 |
Maximum records to return. 0 = no limit (returns all ~312) |
Use cases
- Fediverse research — Map the Mastodon ecosystem by region, language, and category
- VC / investor diligence — Identify large or fast-growing instances for investment analysis
- Content moderation tooling — Enumerate active instances for policy or safety research
- Academic social-network studies — Dataset of decentralised social platforms and their demographics
- Community building — Find instances open for registration in specific languages or topics
Notes
- Data source is the official
api.joinmastodon.org/serversendpoint — curated by the Mastodon project - Only Mastodon instances are included (not Pleroma, Misskey, or GoToSocial — use instances.social for those)
- The directory lists ~312 active, curated instances as of 2026
- API is open, CDN-cached (5-minute TTL), and requires no credentials
- One API call returns all data — no pagination, no proxy required